Seek First His Presence!

Seek First His Presence!

Samuel judged the whole nation of Israel. One day the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They set up camp near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. The Philistines defeated the Israelites and killed about 4000 of them. The Israelite army returned to their camp, and the leaders said, "Why did the LORD let us lose to the Philistines today? Let's get the sacred chest where the LORD's agreement with Israel is kept. Then the LORD will help us and rescue us from our enemies." The army sent some soldiers to bring back the sacred chest from Shiloh, because the LORD All-Powerful has his throne on the winged creatures on top of the chest. As Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, brought the chest into camp, the army cheered so loudly that the ground shook. The Philistines heard the noise and said, "What are those Hebrews shouting about?" When the Philistines learned that the sacred chest had been brought into the camp, they were scared to death and said: The gods have come into their camp. Now we're in real trouble! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They're the same gods who made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians in the desert. Philistines, be brave and fight hard! If you don't, those Hebrews will rule us, just as we've been ruling them. The Philistines did fight. They killed 30000 Israelite soldiers, and all the rest ran off to their homes. Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the sacred chest was captured. That same day a soldier ran from the battlefront to Shiloh. He went into town and told the news about the battle, and everyone started crying. Eli was afraid that something might happen to the sacred chest. So he was sitting on his chair beside the road, just waiting. He was 98 years old and blind, but he could hear everyone crying. The soldier told Eli, "I escaped from the fighting today and ran here." "Young man, what happened?" Eli asked. The soldier answered. "Many of our people were killed, including your 2 sons. But worst of all, the sacred chest was captured." Eli was still sitting on a chair beside the wall of the town gate. And when the man said that the Philistines had taken the sacred chest, Eli fell backwards. He was a very heavy old man, and the fall broke his neck and killed him. He had been a leader of Israel for 40 years. The wife of Phinehas was about to give birth. And soon after she heard that the sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and his father had died, her baby came. The birth was very hard, and she was dying. But the women taking care of her said, "Don't be afraid--it's a boy!" She didn't pay any attention to them. And she gave the child the name of Ichabod, saying, The glory has gone from Israel: because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

Lesson to be learnt:

                Earlier the Lord had given them victory at every battle. The Israelites knew that they would win the battle if God was with them. That’s why they bring the Ark of the Lord to the battle ground. But God gave the Israelites success only when they obeyed Him. The leaders had forgotten that. Just as the Lord had said, the 2 sons of Eli died on the same day. Everyone in Israel cried for their defeat at the battle. But look at the wife of Phinehas. She knew her husband had died and now she has a boy child( a dream of every woman, to be a mother) but that did not make her happy. She died because the Ark of the Lord was captured. She felt bad that the presence of the Lord left them. The presence of the most Holy God is very important for everyone of us. If we lose it, we will be ruined. So lets us always seek the presence of the Lord in first place. And all the  blessings will be given you. How can we do that? We can seek His presence through the Bible and through prayer.

Matthew 6:33

(CEV)  But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.

(Hindi) इसलिथे पहिले तुम उसे राज्य और धर्म की खोज करो तो थे सब वस्‍तुएं तुम्हें मिल जाएंगी।

(Kan) ಆದರೆ ಮೊದಲು ನೀವು ದೇವರ ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನೂ ಆತನ ನೀತಿಯನ್ನೂ ಹುಡುಕಿರಿ. ಇವುಗಳ ಕೂಡ ಅವೆಲ್ಲವುಗಳು ಕೂಡಿಸಲ್ಪಡುವವು.ಆದಕಾರಣ ನಾಳೆಗೋಸ್ಕರ ಚಿಂತೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಡಿರಿ; ಯಾಕಂದರೆ ನಾಳಿನ ದಿನವು ತನಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಪಟ್ಟವುಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ತಾನೇ ಚಿಂತಿಸುವದು. ಆ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಅದರ ಕಾಟ ಸಾಕು.

(Mal) മുമ്പെ അവന്റെ രാജ്യവും നീതിയും അന്വേഷിപ്പിന്‍ ; അതോടുകൂടെ ഇതൊക്കെയും നിങ്ങള്‍ക്കു കിട്ടും.

 (Tamil OV)  முதலாவது தேவனுடைய ராஜ்யத்தையும் அவருடைய நீதியையும் தேடுங்கள், அப்பொழுது இவைகளெல்லாம் உங்களுக்குக்கூடக் கொடுக்கப்படும்.

(Telugu)  కాబట్టి మీరు ఆయన రాజ్యమును ఆయన నీతిని మొదట వెదకుడి; అప్పడవన్నియు మీకనుగ్రహింపబడును.